By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
EDMOND, Okla. – The No. 1 seeded Central Oklahoma Bronchos lived up to their billing as they eliminated No. 4 seeded Fort Hays State in a 3-0 match in the MIAA semifinals. The Tigers slip to 11-7-2 overall for 2018, while the Bronchos improve to 19-1. The win puts Central Oklahoma in the conference finals where they will face No. 2 Central Missouri, last season’s champion, who defeated No. 3 Emporia State earlier tonight in a 7-1 tilt.
After posting a 3-0 shutout over No. 5 Missouri Western in the conference tournament first round, Fort Hays State advanced to take on the top-seeded Bronchos in the semifinals. Unfortunately, the Tigers were unable to carry their momentum into the match, failing to score in the contest. This is the fifth-consecutive year FHSU has been eliminated in the semifinals.
The Bronchos got on the board in the 16th minute of the contest as Asha Haile highlighted on her 15th goal of the season. Morgan Cherry connected with Haile six-yards out to give Central Oklahoma the 1-0 advantage early on. Less than five minutes later, the Bronchos added another goal after Taryn Kedzior notched her second of the season on a header just in front of the net off an assist from Kelsie Eason. The 2-0 lead stayed true through halftime.
The second half saw one additional Broncho goal as Camille Greer connected on a header off a free kick from Eason for her second assist of the night to put the Bronchos up 3-0 in the 66th minute. The 3-0 score held up for the remainder of the contest to seal the Central Oklahoma shutout over Fort Hays State.
On the night, the Tigers were limited in their shot attempts with four shots compared to 36 attempts by the Bronchos. Fort Hays State did not record its first shot until the 80th minute of the contest. The MIAA leader in shots and goals, Katie Killion, as well as Haile and Cherry led all players with five shots each.
Megan Kneefel records her first loss in seven matches for the Tigers alongside eight saves. Kneefel drops to 9-6-2 in net on the season while totaling 83 saves. Ally Salls steals the win and improves her record to 3-0 for the year.